Offset duplicating machines with master loading and ejecting mechanisms



OFFSET DUPLICATING MACHINES WITH MASTER LOADING 1 AND EJECTINGMECHANISMS Filed July 24, 1964 of 11 I Sheet .n Wm nm .w T n w x H m. aa V wk mm v e m mnh h.K "$2M m 1% IQ March 11, 1969 K. .1. TONKIN ETAL3,431,841

OFFSET DUPLICATING MACHINES WITH MASTER LOADING Sheet AND EJECTINGMECHANISMS Filed July 24. 1964 March 11, 1969 K. J. TONKIN ETAL3,431,841

OFFSET DUPLICATING MACHINES WITH MASTER LOADING AND EJECTING MECHANISMSFiled July 24. 1964 Sheet 3 of 11 March 11, 1969 K. .1. TONKIN ETAL3,431,841

OFFSET DUPLICATING MACHINES WITH MASTER LOADING AND EJECTING MECHANISMSFiled July 24, 1964 Sheet 4 of 11 March 11, 1969 K. J. TONKIN E3,431,841

OFFSET DUPLICATING MACHINES WITH MASTER LOADING AND EJECTING MECHANISMSofll- Sheet Filed July 2'4, 1964 K.- .LTONKIN ET AL March 11, 1969 73,431,841

' OFFSET'DUPLICATING MACHINES WITH MASTER LOADING AND EJECTINGMECHANISMS v a of 11 1 Filed July 24, 1964 Sheet March 11, 1969 K. J.TONKIN ETAL 3,431,841

OFFSET DUPLICATING MACHINES WITH MASTER LOADING AND EJECTING MECHANISMSSheet Filed July 24, 1964 March 11, 1969 J, TQNKIN ETAL 3,431,841

OFFSET DUPLICATING MACHINES WITH MASTER LOADING AND mscwme MECHANISMSSheet Filed July 24. 1964 March 11, 1969 K. J. TONKIN ETAL 3,431,841

OFFSET DUPLICATING MACHINES WITH MASTER LOADING AND swarms macamsmsFiled July 24, 1964 Sheet 9 of 11 @N nk March 11. 1969 K. J. TONKIN ETAL7 3,431,841-

OFFSET DUPLICATING MACHINES WITH MASTER LOADING AND EJECTING MECHANISMSFiled July 24, 1964 Sheet /0 of 11 MW E March 11, 1969 K. J. TONKIN ETAL3,431,841

OFFSET DUPLICATING MACHINES WITH MASTER LOADING AND EJECTING MECHANISMSFiled July 24, 1964 Sheet of 11 United States Patent Claims Certainfeatures disclosed in the present application are disclosed and claimedin the copending continuation application of the present applicants,Ser. No. 656,425, filed July 27, 1967, and also in the copendingdivisional application of Kenneth J. Tonkin and Richard R. Jeschke, Ser.No. 656,485, filed July 27, 1967.

This invention relates to duplicating machines and printing presses ingeneral, and particularly to offset duplicating machines. Such ofisetmachines normally use the lithographic process and involve a transfer oroffsetting of the printed impression from the lithographic printingplate or master sheet to a rubber iblanket, which in turn transfers theprinted impression to a copy sheet.

One principal object of the present invention is to provide an offsetduplicating machine in which the various mechanisms of the machine areautomatically controlled and coordinated in a new and improved manner,so that the machine may be operated with much greater speed andfacility, while the possibility of human error is greatly reduced.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved lithographic offset duplicator which includes a master loadingmechanism, for automatically feeding a new master or printing sheet tothe master cylinder of the machine, together with an etch applicatorwhich is coordinated with the master loading mechanism, so that theoperation of the master loading mechanism is automatically initiatedwhen the etch applicator is operated. This novel construction insuresthat the etching solution will be applied to each new master as soon asit is loaded onto the master cylinder, so that the master will beproperly prepared for inking.

Another object is to provide an offset duplicating machine having a newand improved mechanism for ejecting the master from the master cylinderand into a receiving tray, so that the master may be removed from themaster cylinder without stopping the machine.

A further object is to provide a new and improved offset duplicator ofthe foregoing character in which the operation of the master ejectingmechanism is controlled and coordinated with the other mechanisms of themachine, by means of a control mechanism which is operated by a singlecontrol lever.

It is a further object to provide such a new and improved offsetduplicator in which the single control lever actuates not only themaster ejecting mechanism, but also the inking mechanism, the dampeningmechanism, the imaging mechanism for bringing the master cylinder intoengagement with the blanket, the feed mechanism for supplying copysheets to the machine, and the blanket Washing mechanism for washing theold image off the blanket, in preparation for the use of a new master.

It is a further object to provide such a new and improved offsetduplicator in which the printing operation is started by swinging thecontrol lever in one direction, and is terminated by returning the leverin the opposite direction.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear fromthe following description, taken with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of a "ice lithographicoffset duplicator to be described as an illustrative embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the etchapplicator employed on the duplicator of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic elevational section showing the automaticcontrol mechanism whereby the operation of the etch applicator initiatesthe operation of the master loading mechanism, whereby a new master isfed to the master cylinder.

FIGS. 4-7 are elevational views showing a latch-operating lever, aprimary latch, a secondary latch, and a cam follower, respectively,employed as components in the control mechanism of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is an elevational section taken through the master feedingmechanism, generally along the line 88 in FIG. 10.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary elevational section taken through the masterfeeding mechanism, generally along the line 99 in FIG. 10.

FIG. 10 is a somewhat diagrammatic plan view of the master feedmechanism with the upper feed roller removed.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing the master feed rollers and takengenerally along the line 1111 in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic elevational view of the mechanisms for openingthe master clamp on the master cylinder during the master loading andejecting operations.

FIG. 13 is an end view of the master cylinder, showing the adjacentplunger cams for selectively opening the master clamp.

FIG. 14 is a stretched out diagrammatic sectional view taken through themechanism shown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic side elevational view showing the controlmechanism which is operated by the single control lever, to coordinatethe operations involved in starting and terminating the printingoperation.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged diagrammatic view of the dam cluster which isoperated by the single control lever.

FIG. 17 is an edge view of the cam cluster.

FIGS. 18-23 are elevational views of various control levers operated bythe cam cluster. Specifically, FIG. 18 illustrates the control lever forthe inking and dampening mechanism; FIG. 19, the control lever to causethe image to be developed on the blanket; FIG. 20, the detent lever;FIG. 21, the blanket Washer pawl; FIG. 22, the blanket washer lever,operable by the pawl; and FIG. 23, the master eject control lever.

FIG. 24 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of the mechanism forreceiving the master as it is ejected from the master cylinder.

FIG. 25 is a. diagrammatic sectional view showing the rollers forpropelling the ejected master, the view being taken generally along theline 25-25 in FIG. 24.

FIG. 26 is a diagrammatic view showing the stripper plate for strippingthe ejected master from the master cylinder, the view being takengenerally as indicated by the line 2626' in FIG. 24.

FIG, 27 is a fragmentary stretched out sectional view taken generallyalOng the line 2727 in FIG. 3.

FIG 28 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 28-28 in FIG.27.

FIG. 29' is a fragmentary elevational view of the master cylinder,showing the gripper construction.

The present invention will be described as embodied in a lithographicoffset duplicator or printing press 40, illustrated diagrammatically inFIG. 1. This machine is of the three-cylinder type, having a mastercylinder 42, a blanket or offset cylinder 44, and an impression cylinder46. The master cylinder 42 is adapted to carry the master or printingsheet, which is usually made of paper or thin sheet metal, such asaluminum. Normally, the machine uses the lithographic process, so thatcertain image areas of the master are adapted to accept lithographicink. The nonimage areas of the master are adapted to accept water or awater-base moistening solution, which repels the ink.

The ink applied to the master on the master cylinder 42 is transferredor offset to the rubber blanket on the blanket cylinder 44. Copy sheets,usually made of paper, are fed between the blanket cylinder 44 and theimpression cylinder 46, so that the inked image on the blanket will betransferred to the copy sheets. Offset duplicators of this generalconstruction are well known to those skilled in the art.

Other features of the offset duplicator 40 are also illustrated inFIG. 1. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, themachine is equipped with a master loading mechanism 48 whereby a newmaster may be loaded onto the master cylinder 42 while the mastercylinder continues to rotate at its normal speed. Thus, the master maybe loaded onto the master cylinder without stopping the machine. A newmaster to be fed to the master cylinder 42 is placed on a master feedtable 50. At the proper time, and under the control of the operator, themaster is fed to the master cylinder by upper and lower feed rollers 52and 54. The master is propelled between upper and lower guide plates 56and 58. It will be seen that the lower guide plate 58 is an extension ofthe feed table 50-. Further details of the master loading mechanism willbe described presently.

The lithographic duplicator 40 is equipped with an etch applicator ormechanism 60 for applying an etching solution to the new master on themaster cylinder 42, to prepare the master for the application of waterand ink. In this case, the etch applicator 60 comprises a pad or wiper62 which is movable between a sponge 64 and the surface of the master onthe master cylinder 42. The sponge 64 serves as a reservoir to hold asupply of the etching solution. The illustrated pad 62 is hexagonal inshape so as to provide six working surfaces which may be usedsuccessively to prolong the life of the pad. The etch applicator 60 isprovided with an actuating lever 66 which may be swung clockwise to movethe pad 62 between the sponge 64 and the master cylinder 42. As will bedescribed in detail shortly, the master loading mechanism 48 is tied inwith the etch applicator 60 in such a way that the actuation of thecontrol lever 66 initiates the operation of the master loadingmechanism. This arrangement insures that the etching solution will beapplied to each new master, inasmuch as it is necessary to actuate theetch applicator in order to cause the new master to be loaded onto themaster cylinder 42.

The duplicator 40 has a single master control lever 70 which operates amaster control mechanism 72, to be described in detail presently. Themaster lever 70 is employed by the operator to carry out all of thefunctions which are necessary to initiate and terminate the printing ofcopy sheets from any particular master. It will be seen that the controllever 70* has seven positions. A normal starting position is designatedNeutral. The control lever 70 should be in the Neutral position when themaster loading mechanism 48 is actuated to load a new master onto themaster cylinder 42. After the etching solution has been applied to thenew master and the etch control lever 66 has been returned to itsinitial position, the master lever 70' is advanced one step in aclockwise direction to the position designated Ink. In this position,ink and water are applied to the master.

The control lever 70 is then advanced another step to the positiondesignated Image. This movement of the control lever causes the mastercylinder 42 to move into engagement with the blanket cylinder 44, sothat ink is transferred to the rubber blanket to develop an inked imageon the blanket.

Next, the master control lever 70 is swung clockwise to the Feedposition, and then is swung an additional amount to the Feed Onposition. Such operation of the control lever initiates the operation ofthe mechanism which feeds paper sheets between the blanket andimpression cylinders 44 and 46. Such paper feed mechanism are well knownto those skilled in the art.

When the lever 70 is released, it does not stay in the Feed On position,but is resiliently returned to the Feed position, while the fedmechanism continues to operate. The lever 70 is left in the Feedposition until the desired number of copy sheets have been printed. Themaster lever 70 is then returned manually in a counterclockwisedirection, through the Image and Ink positions to the Neutral position.The return movement to the Image position terminates the operation ofthe paper feed mechanism, if such operation has not already beenterminated by an automatic counter or a separate manual control. Thereturn of the lever 70 to the Neutral position cuts off the supply ofink and water to the master on the master cylinder 42. The mastercylinder is also separated from the blanket cylinder 44.

Next, the master lever 70 is moved in a counterclockwise directionbeyond the Neutral position to the next position, designated Eject. Inthis position, a master ejecting mechanism is actuated, so as to ejectthe master from the master cylinder 42 and into a receiving tray 82. Themaster is propelled into the tray 82 by upper and lower forwardingrollers 84 and 86. Further details of the master ejecting mechanism 80will be described presently.

The control lever 70 is then moved counterclockwise through another stepto the Wash position, so as to actuate a blanket washing mechanism whichwashes the ink off the rubber blanket on the blanket cylinder 44. Suchblanket washers are well known to this skilled in the art.

Finally, the master control level 70 is returned in a clockwisedirection to the Neutral position, in preparation for the feeding ofanother new master to the master cylinder 42. In moving between the Washand Neutral positions, the lever 70 passes through the Eject position,but the control mechanism 72 is constructed and arranged so as to avoidactuating the master ejecting mechanism during the clockwise movement ofthe control lever.

The duplicator 40 is constructed so that all of the functions of themachine may be carried out without stopping the machine. Thus, it ispossible to change masters rapidly and to print the desired number ofcopy sheets from each successive master without stopping the machine atany time.

Other details of the etch applicator 60 are illustrated in FIG. 3. Thecontrol lever 66 is secured to a rotatable shaft which extendstransversely across the machine. The hexagonal pad 62 is carried by apair of arms 92 and 94 which are swingable about the axis of the shaft90 but are secured to an elongated sleeve 96 which is rotatably mountedon the shaft 90. A spring 98 is provided to bias the pad 62 in acounterclockwise direction toward the sponge 64. In this case, thespring 98 is of the coiled torsional type.

The control lever 66 is connected to the supporting arm 94 for the pad62 in such a manner as to provide a certain amount of lost motionbetween the lever and the pad, so that the lever can travel farther thanthe pad. Thus, an arm 100 is secured to the shaft 90 and is fitted witha pin 102 which is movable in an arcuate slot 104 formed in the arm 94,which is on the far side of the machine as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 3. Acoiled tension spring 106 is connected between the pin 102 and a pin 108mounted on the arm 94. Clockwise movement of the control lever 66 causescorresponding movement of the arm 100. The pull of the tension spring106 causes the arm 94 to swing with the arm 100 until the pad 62 engagesthe master cylinder 42, whereupon the lever 66 may be swung anadditional distance, until the pin 102 reaches the lower end of the slot104.

The hexagonal pad 62 is mounted on a roller 110 which is rotatablysupported on the arms 92 and 94. When the pad 62 is moved between thesponge 64 and the master cylinder 42, the roller 110 is rotated relativeto the arms 92 and 94 so that the pad 62 will present the same surfaceto the sponge 64 and the master cylinder 42. For this purpose, an arm112 is secured to the roller 110 adjacent the supporting arm 94. The arm112 is formed with a longitudinal slot 114 which slidably receives astationary pin 116, mounted on a stationary supporting plate 118. Thus,the arm 112 is caused to swing about the pin 116 when the hexagonal pad62 is swung between the sponge 64 and the master cylinder 42. It will beobserved that the pin 116 is located approximately at the intersectionof perpendicular lines extending from the sponge 64 and the mastercylinder 42. In this way, the same surface of the pad 62 is presented toboth the sponge and the master cylinder.

During the operation of the duplicator, the master cylinder 42 isrepeatedly moved toward and away from the blanket cylinder 44 by anautomatic mechanism which is under the control of the feed mechanism forthe paper sheets. The automatic mechanism is operative to hold themaster cylinder against the blanket cylinder when paper sheets are beingfed. Such arrangements will be familiar to those skilled in the art. Theshifting movement of the master cylinder 42, toward and away from theblanket cylinder 44 occurs during the operation of the etch mechanism 60and tends to interfere with the smooth and efiicient application of theetching solution to the master. However, the present etch mechanism isconstructed to obviate any such interference. In the illustratedmachine, the master cylinder 42 is rotatable about a supporting shaft120 which does not rotate with the cylinder but is disposedeccentrically with respect to its supporting pivots 122. The mastercylinder 42 is moved into and out of engagement with the blanketcylinder 44 by turning the pivots 122 through a relatively small angle.An arrangement is provided whereby the etch applicator pad 62 willfollow the shifting movement of the eccentric shaft 120, so that thepressure between the pad and the master will remain relatively constant.Thus, a follower bar 124 is slidably mounted on a frame plate 126 whichconstitutes the main left-hand frame plate of the machine. The lower endof the follower member 124 engages the eccentric shaft 120 so that thefollower member moves up and down when the eccentric shaft is shifted upand down. The upper end of the follower member 124 is engaged by a stopmember 128 which is movable with the etch applicator pad 62. In thiscase, the stop member 128 is in the form of a bar which is adjustablyconnected to the arm 112. Thus, an adjusting screw 130 is connectedbetween flanges 132 and 134 on the upper ends of the arm 112 and the bar128. It will be evident that the stop bar 128 may be adjusted upwardlyand downwardly relative to the arm 112 and also relative to the pad 62.The adjustment of the stop bar 128 determines the extent to which thepad 62 may be moved downwardly before the stop bar 128 engages the upperend of the follower member 124.

The follower member 124 transmits the upward and downward movement ofthe eccentric shaft 120 to the stop bar 128 and thence to the pad 62, sothat the pad is moved upwardly and downwardly with the shaft 120. Thisarrangement prevents any bouncing action between the pad 62 and themaster cylinder 42. The pin 102 and the slot 104, together with thespring 106, accommodate the upward and downward movement of the pad 62.

It has already been indicated that the operation of the control lever 66for. the etch applicator 60 initiates the actuation of the masterfeeding mechanism 48, so that a new master sheet or printing plate isloaded onto the master cylinder 42. This tie-in is brought about by anadditional arm 136 which is secured to the shaft 90 on which the controllever 66 is mounted. The arm 136 is formed with a finger 138 which ismovable downwardly into engagement with a flange 140 on a control lever142. The arrangement is such that the control lever 142 is swungcounterclockwise about its pivot 144 when the control lever 66 has beenswung sufiiciently in a clockwise direction to move the etch applicatorpad 62 against the master cylinder 42. To provide for overtravel of thecontrol lever 66 and the finger 138, the lever 142 is split into a mainmember 146, which is mounted on the pivot 144, and a left-hand armmember 148 on which the flange 140 is formed. The arm member 148 isconnected to the main member 146 by a pivot 150. It will be seen that aspring 152 is connected between a pin 154 on the arm member 148 and ancar 156 on the main member 146. The spring 152 normally pulls the pin154 against the main member 146. When the arm member 148 is swungcounterclockwise by the finger 138, the spring 152 causes the mainmember 146 to swing with the arm member 148. However, the spring 152makes it possible for the movement of the arm member 148 to exceed thatof the main member 146.

The split control lever 142 is adapted to initiate the operation of acontrol mechanism 160 for the master loading mechanism 48. Beforedescribing the details of the control mechanism 160, it will be helpfulto describe the arrangement of the feed rollers 52 and 54 in greaterdetail, with particular reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

The lower roller 54 is continuously driven by a suitable drive, which isillustrated as comprising an idler gear 164 which meshes with gears 166and 168. The gear 166 is connected to the master cylinder 42, while thegear 168 is connected to the lower feed roller 54.

It will be seen that the lower feed roller 54 is divided into aplurality of narrow parts or sections 170 which project upwardly throughslots 172 formed in the lower guide plate 58. The sections 170 areslightly below the upper surface of the guide plate 58.

Initially the upper feed roller 52 is raised to an inactive position,out of engagement with the lower feed roller 54, but the upper feedroller is movable downwardly to an active position in which the upperfeed roller will press the new master sheet against the rotating lowerfeed roller 54 so that the master sheet will be propelled to the mastercylinder 42. To provide for such movement, the upper feed roller 52 ismounted between a pair of swingable plates of frames 174 which aresecured to a shaft 176 extending across the machine. A downwardlyextending arm 178 is also mounted on the shaft 176 and is adapted to beoperated by the control mechanism 160, in a manner to be describedpresently. The upper roller 52 is biased downwardly by springs 180 whichare connected between the frame plates 174 and stationary pins 182. Theupper feed roller 52 is also divided into parts or sections 184 whichextend through slots 186 in the upper guide plate 56.

Initially, the new master to be fed to the master cylinder 42 is laid onthe feed table 50 and is sli'd between the guide plates 56 and 58 untilthe leading edge of the master engages a plurality of stop fingers 18 8which at this stage are projecting upwardly through slots 190 (FIG. 10)in the lower guide plate 58. The stops 188 insure that the master isaccurately positioned. In this case, the stop finger-s 188 :projectupwardly from arms 192 formed on a plate 194. Flanges 196 are formed onthe plate 194 and are provided with openings 198 for loosely recievingthe shaft 176. Thus, the stop fingers 188 are swinga-ble about the axisof the shaft 176 but are not secured thereto. The stop plate 194 isbiased upwardly by means of springs 200 which are connected toadditional arms 202 on the stop plate.

Means are provided for moving the stop fingers 188 downwardly, out ofthe way of the master, when the upper roller 52 is moved downwardly topress the master against the lower roller 54. Thus, adjustable screws204 are threaded through flanges 206 on the frame plates 174 and areengageable with the arms 202 on the stop plate 194. The screws 204 areadjusted so that the stops 188 will be moved below the upper surface ofthe guide plate 58 just before the upper feed roller 52 engages themaster. The continuously driven lower roller 54 thereupon propels themaster to the master cylinder 42.

To hold the leading end of the master, the master cylinder 42 isprovided with a clamp 210 comprising resilient gripper fingers 212 whichare engageable with an anvil or bar 214 on the cylinder 42. The grippers212 are mounted on a rectangular shaft or bar 216 which is rotatableabout pivots 218. Ejection fingers 220 are also mounted on the shaft 216and are arranged to extend inwardly through slots 222 in the grippers212, so as to form a crotch 224 between the grippers 212 and theejection fingers 220. The new master is fed into this crotch, so thatthe ejection fingers 220 also serve as stops to control the extent towhich the master is fed into the grippers. The grippers 212 are open, asshown in FIG. 8, when the master is fed into the crotch 224. Shortlythereafter, the grippers are closed so as to press the master againstthe anvil 214. The mechanism for opening and closing the grippers willbe described in detail presently.

The control mechanism 160 is adapted to operate the arm 178 so as todrop the upper rollers 52 against the master, in timed relation to therotation of the master cylinder 42, so that the master will be fed intothe grippers 212 on the master cylinder. To accomplish the desiredtiming, the power for operating the control mechanism 160 is derivedfrom a cam 230 which is connected to the blanket cylinder 44 so as torotate continuously therewith. It will be understood that the master andblanket cylinders 42 and 44 are geared together so that the rotation ofthe cam 230 will be in a predetermined timed relation to the rotation ofthe master cylinder 42.

The cam 230 is adapted to operate a power lever 232 having a camfollower roller 234 thereon for engaging the cam 230. The lever 232 isswingable about a pivot 236. In FIG. 3, the roller 234 is shown on thelow part 238 of the cam 230. In this case, the cam 230 also has a highpart or lobe 240 and an intermediate part 242. A spring 244 biases thelever 232 in a clockwise direction and thus tends to maintain the roller234 in engagement with the cam 230.

Initially, before the control lever 66 is actuated, the cam followerlever 232 is latched in an inactive position by a primary latching lever246 having a pawl or shoulder 248 which is adapted to hook on to alatching ear or flange 250 on the lever 232. In FIG. 3, the latchinglever 246 is shown in the unlatched position. When the lever 232 islatched, only the high point 240 of the cam 230 engages the roller 234.The high point 240 moves the lever 232 a small amount in acounterclockwise direction so as to relieve the pressure between the car250 and the latching shoulder 248. When the pressure is thus relieved,the latching lever 246 may be swung counterclockwise to its unlatchedposition, as shown in FIG. 3. The roller 234 then rides down the cam 230to the low part 238, with the result that the lever 232 is swung in aclockwise direction. Such movement of the lever 232 has the effect ofdropping the upper feed rollers 52 onto the master so that it will befed to the master cylinder 42. Thus, the arm 178, shown in both FIG. 3and FIG. 8, is formed with a flange or shoe 252 which is engageable witha roller 254 on the follower lever 232. The springs 180 bias the arms174 and 178 in a counterclockwise direction and thus tend to maintainthe flange 252 against the roller 254. When the lever 232 swingsclockwise, the flange 252 follows the roller 254 so that the arm 178swings counterclockwise. Thus, the master is fed to the master cylinder42. In a manner to be described presently, the follower lever 232 alsooperates a mechanism which opens the grippers 212 on the master cylinderThe manner in which the latch 246 is unlatched will now be described.

This is brought about by the counterclockwise movement of the splitlever 142 when such lever is actuated by the finger 138 connected to thecontrol lever 66, as previously described. The right-hand end of themain member 146 of the split lever 142 is engageable with a pin 256 on alatch-operating lever 258, shown in FIG. 4, as well as in FIG. 3. Whenthe lever 142 is swung counterclockwise, the lever 258 is swungclockwise until it engages a stationary stop pin 260. Thelatch-operating lever 258 is swingable about a pivot 262 and is biasedin a counterclockwise direction by a spring 264. It will be seen thatthe lever 258 has an arm 266 which is engageable with a hub or bushing268 to limit the counterclockwise movement of the lever and therebyestablish the initial position thereof.

A spring 270 is provided to bias the main member 146 of the split lever142 in a counterclockwise direction, so that the right-hand end of themember 146 will be urged against the pin 256. However, the spring 270 isnot strong enough to move the lever 258 against the biasing action ofits return spring 264.

It will be seen that an elongated wire spring 272 is connected betweenthe latch-operating lever 258 and the primary latching lever 246. Thewire spring 272 extends through an apertured pin 274 on the operatinglever 258, and also through an apertured lug or flange 276 on the upperend of the latching lever 246. The spring 272 has an upper end portion278 which is wrapped or looped around the hub 280 of the lever 258.

When the latch-operating lever 258 is swung clockwise, the wire spring272 tends to swing the primary latching lever 246 counterclockwise.However, the resilient action or force of the spring 272 is notsuflicient to unlatch the lever 246 until the pressure is relievedbetween the latching shoulder 248 and the ear 250. It will be recalledthat such pressure is relieved when the high point 240 of the cam 230passes the roller 234. The latching lever 246 then snaps to the positionshown in FIG. 3. After the cam 230 has rotated through one revolution,the lever 232 is returned to its initial position by the high point 240of the cam, whereupon the lever 232 is relatched so that it will notcontinue to follow the cam. The relatching is normally accomplished by asecondary latching lever 282, which is shown in FIG. 6 as well as inFIG. 3. It will be seen that the lever 282 has a latching pawl orshoulder 284 which is engageable with the ear 250. The lever 282 isswingable about a pivot 286, about which the primary latch 246 is alsoswingable, independently of the lever 282. When the relatching occurs,the secondary latching lever 282 is biased into its latching position byan over-center spring 288.

The secondary latching lever 282 remains in engagement with the car 250until the operating lever 66 is released, whereupon the latch-operatinglever 258 returns in a counterclockwise direction toward its initialposition. The wire spring 272 then swings the primary latch 246 in aclockwise direction so that it tends to move into latching engagementwith the car 250. It will be seen that the latching lever 258 has an arm290 which is formed with a flange 292 adapted to engage a pin 294 on thesecondary latching lever 282. Thus, the counterclockwise return movementof the latch-operating lever 258 tends to move the secondary latchinglever 282 out of latching engagement with the car 250. However, thereturn spring 264 is not strong enough to move the secondary latchinglever 282 until the latching pressure is relieved between the car 250and the latching shoulder 284. Such latching pressure is relieved whenthe follower lever 232 is moved to a slight extent in a counterclockwisedirection by the high point 240 of the cam. At this instant, thesecondary latching lever 282 moves out of latching engagement with theear 250, while the primary latching lever 246 moves back into latchingengagement with the ear 250.

The clockwise unlatching movement of the secondary latching lever 282causes the spring 288 to move overcenter, so that it now biases thesecondary latching lever 282 in a clockwise direction, away from the car250. The secondary latching lever 282 remains in this position until thelever 232 is again unlatched. When the lever 232 swings clockwise, thesecondary latching lever 282 is engaged by a pin 296 on the lever 232.In this way, the lever 282 is swung counterclockwise, whereupon thespring 288 again moves overcenter. In this case, the spring 288 is ofthe hairpin compression type and is connected between the fixed pivot orpin 236 and the pin 298 on the secondary latching lever 282.

As already indicated, the control mechanism 160 also comprises means foropening the grippers 212 on the master cylinder 42 in the proper timedrelationship to the feeding of the new master sheet, so that the masterwill be fed into the crotch 224 of the grippers. To operate thegrippers, an elongated link 302 is connected to the cam follower lever232 by means of a pin 304. The link 302 extends downwardly and isconnected to 'a pin 306 on an arm 308 which is secured to a shaft 310extending transversely across the machine. To allow for lost motion, thelink 302 is formed with a slot 312 which receives the pin 306. A spring314 is stretched between the pin 306 and another pin 316 which ismounted on the link 302 and is spaced upwardly from the pin 306. Thespring 314 tends to keep the pin 306 at the upper end of the slot 312.

The shaft 310 extends between the far or left-hand side and the near orright-hand side of the machine. With reference to FIG. 3, the arm 308 ison the far end of the shaft 310. Another arm 318 is mounted on the nearend of the shaft 310 and is connected to a link 320 by means of a pin322. The arm 318 and the link 320 are shown in FIG. 12, as well as inFIG. 3.

The link 320 is adapted to operate a movable plunger cam 324, shown inFIGS. 1214. The cam 324 is in the form of a plate of irregular shape,secured to the inner end of a pin or shaft 326 which is slidable withina stationary guide sleeve 328. It will be seen that the guide sleeve 328is mounted on the near or right-hand frame plate 330 of the machine. Asecond pin 332 is secured to the cam plate 324 and is slidably receivedin an opening 334 formed in the frame plate 330.

The upper end of the link 320 is formed with an outwardly projectingflange or lug 336 which is connected by means of a pin 338 to anL-shaped lever 340, swingable about a pivot 342. The lever 340 has adownwardly extending arm 344 which is provided with a ball-shaped endportion 346. A socket 348 is formed in the upper side portion of the pin326 to receive the ball 346. The arm 344 extends through a slot 350 inthe guide sleeve 328.

In FIG. 14, the cam 324 is shown in full lines in its inactve position,in which the cam is moved toward the rear side of the frame plate 330.The cam 324 is moved to this position by counterclockwise movement ofthe cam follower lever 232. The active position of the cam is shown inbroken lines.

In its active position, the cam 324 is adapted to be engaged by afollower roller 352 (FIG. 13) carried by one end of a lever 356 on themaster cylinder 42. The follower lever 356 is swingable about a pivot358 on the master cylinder 42. The other end of the lever 356 is fittedwith an adjusting screw 360 which is engageable With a roller 362carried by a lever 364 on the gripper shaft 216. It will be recalledthat the gripper shaft 216 is also shown in FIG. 8, as well as FIG. 13.To close the grippers 212, a spring 366 is connected between the lever364 and a pin 368 on the master cylinder 42. Another spring 370 isprovided to bias the follower lever 356 in a clockwise direction so asto urge the adjusting screw 360 against the roller 362. The spring 366is strong enough to overcome the spring 370 and to hold the grippers 212firmly closed.

When the cam 324 is moved into the path of the roller 352, the grippers212 are opened as they pass the master feeding mechanism 48. The rollers52 and 54 feed the master into the crotch 224 of the grippers. Theroller 352 then rides off the cam 324, so that the grippers 212 areclosed upon the leading edge of the master. By the time the mastercylinder 42 has completed another revolution, the cam 324 is moved outof the path of the roller 352 by the counterclockwise movement of thecam follower 332. When the follower 332 is latched in its inactiveposition by either of the latches 246 and 282, the cam 324 is out of thepath of the roller 352.

It will be recalled that the etch applicator 60 is effective to apply anetching solution to the new master after it has been loaded onto themaster cylinder 42. The other functions which are necessary to commencethe printing operation are controlled by the master control lever 70,which operates the control mechanism 72. Details of the controlmechanism 72 are shown in FIGS. 15-23. The master control lever 70 isconnected to a cam cluster or assembly 380" which is rotatable about apivot or shaft 382. It will be seen that the cam cluster 380 comprises acontrol cam 384 and a detent cam 386 which are secured together by meansof a hub or spacer 388. In FIGS. 15 and 16, the cam cluster 380 is shownin the position which it occupies when the control lever 70 is in theFeed position. The detent cam 386 is formed with a series of detentnotches 391, 392, 393, 394, 395 and 396 which correspond to the Feed,Image, Ink, Neutral, Eject and Wash positions of the master controllever 70.

The detent cam 386 is engaged by a roller 398 carried by a followerlever 400 which is swingable about a pivot 402. A spring 404 is providedto bias the lever 400 in a clockwise direction so that the roller 398will be held against the detent cam 386.

The detent notches 392-396 are generally semi-circular to provide adefinite detenting action in both directions, but the detent notch 391has one side portion 406 which slopes gradually in an outward directionto provide a spring return action for the Feed On position. It will berecalled that the detent cam 386 is in the Feed position in FIGS. 15 and16. When the cam 386 is turned clockwise to the Feed On position, theroller 398 rides up the inclined portion 406. When the master controllever 70 is released, the spring 404 is effective to return the detentcam 386 to the Feed position.

The rotation of the cam cluster 380 is limited by two fixed stop pins410 and 412 which are engageable by a stop pin 414 on the detent cam386. The movable pin 414 engages the fixed pin 412 when the cam cluster380 is swung clockwise to the Feed On position. When the cam cluster 380is swung counterclockwise to the Wash position, the movable pin 414engages the fixed'pin 410.

The control cam 384 is engaged by a roller 416 which is carried by oneend of an L-shaped lever 418, shown in FIG. 18, as well as FIG. 15. Theother end of the lever 418 is connected by means of a pin 420 to a link422. As shown in FIG. 15, the link 422 is formed with a slot 424 inwhich a fixed pin 426 is slidably received. Thus, the swinging movementof the lever 418 causes the link 422 to slide along the pin 426. Aspring 428 is connected to the lever 418 to bias it counterclockwise sothat the roller 416 will be held against the control cam 384.

The link 422 is adapted to operate a lever 430 which controls theapplication of ink to the master on the master cylinder 42. The ink isapplied to the master cylinder by an inking system which includes a formroller 432 movable into and out of engagement with the master cylinder42. Such ink systems are well known to those skilled in the art. Whenthe lever 430 is swung clockwise, as shown in FIG. 15, the form roller432 is moved into engagement with the master cylinder 42. When the lever430 is swung counterclockwise, the form roller 432 is separated from themaster cylinder 42. As shown, the lever 430 carries a roller 434 whichis adapted to be engaged by a pair of spaced flanges 436 and 438 on thelink 422.

In FIG. 15, the roller 416 is on the low portion 440 of the control cam384. The cam 384 has a high portion 442 which engages the roller 416when the cam 384 is rotated to the Neutral position. Thus, the lever 418is swung clockwise so as to move the link 422 to the right. Suchmovement of the link 422 causes the flange 436 to engage the roller 434so as to shift the lever 430 in a counterclockwise direction. Thus, theform roller 432 is moved away from the master cylinder 42.

The lever 418 is also employed to control the application of water orrepellant solution to the master on the master cylinder 42. The water isapplied to the master by the form roller 432 which receives the waterfrom an oscillating roller 450, which is one of the rollers of theinking system. The roller 450 oscillates longitudinally and is effectiveto spread the ink uniformly on the form roller 432. The water is appliedto the oscillating roller 450 by a water ductor roller 452 which in turnreceives the water from a fountain roller 454. In this case the ductorroller 452 continuously engages the fountain roller 454 but is movedinto and out of engagement with the oscillating roller 450 in a cyclicalmanner. When it is desired to interrupt the supply of water to the formroller 432, the ductor roller 452 is held away from the oscillatingroller 450. Such interruption of the supply of water is brought about byan arm 456 which is mounted on a shaft 458 and is adapted to be swungclockwise by a pin 460 on the lever 418. Thus, when the control cam 384is moved between the Feed and the Image positions, the lever 418 isswung clockwise by an intermediate portion 461 on the cam 384. Thisswinging movement causes the arm 456 to swing counterclockwise, with theresult that the supply of water to the form roller 432 is interrupted.When the cam 384 is moved between the Ink and Neutral positions, thelever 418 is swung an additional amount, so that the form roller 432 isseparated from the master cylinder 42, as previously described.

When the printing operation is started, the control lever 70 is movedfrom the Neutral position to the Ink position. The cam 384 causes thelever 418 to swing counterclockwise and thereby causes the form roller432 to move against the master cylinder 42. This position of the formroller is maintained when the lever 70 is moved to the Image, Feed andFeed On positions.

When the lever 70 is moved between the Image and Feed positions, the cam384 causes the lever 418 to swing counterclockwise an additional amount,with the result that the arm 456 is swung clockwise, so as to start theapplication of water to the oscillating roller 450 b the ductor roller452.

In the Image position, the master cylinder 42 is shifted so that themaster engages the blanket cylinder 44. This causes an image of themaster to develop on the blanket. The shifting of the master cylinder isbrought about by a roller 462 which is mounted on the detent cam 386 andprojects forwardly therefrom, as seen in FIGS. 16 and 17. When thedetent cam 386 is moved to the Image position, the roller 462 engages acam lobe 464 on a lever 466 and causes the lever 466 to swingcounterclockwise about its pivot 468. The upper end of the lever 466 isprovided with a pin 470 which is slidably received in a slot 472 formedin a link 474. A spring 476 is connected between the pin 470 and anotherpin 478 on the link 474. Normally, the spring 476 holds the right-handend of the slot 472 against the pin 470. The spring 476 causes the link474 to move to the left when the lever 466 is swung counterclockwise.

The right-hand end of the link 474 is connected by means of a pin 480 toan arm 482 which is mounted on a shaft 484. The shaft 484 also supportsa control lever 486 which may be swung downwardly to operate a controlmechanism which is effective to cause the master cylinder 42 to beshifted into engagement with the blanket cylinder 44.

To provide a spring return for the control lever 486, a spring 488 isconnected to a detent arm 490 so as to bias the arm in a clockwisedirection about its pivot 492. The arm 490 carries a detent pin 494which initially engages a detent notch 496 in a detent arm 498 which issecured to the shaft 484. The notch 496 has one side portion 500 whichslopes gradually in an outward direction, so that the carnming actionbetween the pin 494 and the sloping portion 500 tends to return thelever 486 to the Neutral position when the lever is swung clockwise. Thedetent arm 498 also has another notch 502 adapted to retain the pin 494when the lever 486 is swung manually in a counter- Clockwise direction.Movement of the lever 486 in a counterclockwise direction from theNeutral position is effective to hold the master cylinder 42 away fromthe blanket cylinder 44.

When the master control lever 70 is in the Image position, the lever 466is swung counterclockwise so as to cause the master cylinder 42 to moveinto engagement with the blanket cylinder. When the master control lever70 is in the Feed and Feed On positions, the movement of the mastercylinder, into and out of engagement with the blanket cylinder, iscontrolled automaticall by the paper feed mechanism, in a manner thatwill be familiar to those skilled in the art. When the feeding of thepaper sheets is terminated, the master cylinder is separated from theblanket cylinder.

The movement of the master control lever 70 to the Feed On positionstarts the operation of the feed mechanism for the paper sheets. Theoperation of the feed mechanism continues when the lever 70 is allowedto return to the Feed position. When the lever 70 is returned to theImage position, the feed mechanism is automatically turned off.

The functions of turning the feed mechanism on and off are controlled bypins 506 and 508 projecting forwardly from the control cam 384. The pins506 and 508 are engageable with the opposite edges of a lever 510 whichis swingable about the pivot 402 which also supports the detent lever400, as already described. The lower end of the lever 510 is fitted witha pin 512 which is slidably received in a slot 514 formed in anelongated link 516. A spring 518 is connected between the pin 512 andanother pin 520 on the link 516. The right-hand end of the link 516 isconnected to a hand lever 522 which controls the operation of the paperfeed mechanism. Such control arrangements will be familiar to thoseskilled in the art. When the lever 522 is swung upwardly, the operationof the paper feed mechanism is started, so that paper sheets are fedbetween the blanket and impression cylinders 44 and 46. Such movement ofthe lever 522 is caused by the pin 506 when it engages the lever 510 andswings it in a counterclockwise direction. The lever 522 is detained inits raised position by a detent mechanism embodied in a paper feedmechanism, not shown.

The lever 510 is shown in FIG. 15 in its actuated position, in which thefee-d is On. When the control lever 70 is moved from the Feed positionto the Image position, the pin 508 engages the lever 510 and swings itin a clockwise direction to its inactive position in which the feed isOff. The lever 510 is then out of the path of the pin 508 so that thepin is able to pass the lever without interference. It will be notedthat the pin 508 is at a smaller radial distance from the axis of thecam cluster 380 than is the pin 506. Thus, the lever 510 is still in thepath of the pin 506 when the'lever 510 is in its inactive position.

After the control lever 70 has been returned to its Neutral position, itis swung counterclockwise to the Eject position so as to eject themaster from the master cylinder 42. This function is controlled by aroller 524 projecting rearwardly from the control cam 384. As the roller524 moves to the Eject position, it engages and swings a lever or pawl526 in a clockwise direction about its pivot 528. The lever 526 carriesa pin 530 which is engageable with an upwardly extending arm 532 on afour-armed lever 534, shown in FIG. 23 as well as FIG. 15. The clockwisemovement of the lever 526 causes counterclockwise movement of the lever534. A spring 536 is stretched between the pin and another pin 538 onthe lever 534 to bias the pin 530 against the arm 532.

The lever 534 is biased in a clockwise direction by a spring 540. Thelever 534 carries another pin 542 which extends through a slot 544 in alink 546. A spring 548 is connected between the pin 542 and a pin 550 onthe link 546'.

It will be seen that the lever 534 and the link 546 are shown in FIG.12, as well as FIG. 15. The link 546 is employed to operate a secondplunger cam 552, adapted to open the grippers 212 on the master cylinder42. The plunger cam 552 is shown in FIGS. 12-14. It will be seen thatthe plunger cam is in the form of a plate of irregular shape, mounted onthe rear end of a pin 554 which is slidable in a stationary sleeve 556.A second guide pin 558 is secured to the plate 552 and is slidablyreceived in an opening 560 formed in the frame plate 330'.

The upper end of the link 546 is formed with a flange 562 which isconnected by means of a pin 564 to one arm 566 of an L-shaped lever 568,swingable about a pivot 570. An upwardly projecting member or arm 572 ismounted on the lever 568 and is provided with a ballshaped end portion574. A socket 576 is formed in the pin 554 to receive the ball portion574. The arm 572 extends through a slot 578 in the sleeve 556.

When the lever 526 is swung clockwise by the roller 524, the four-armedlever 534 is swung counterclockwise and the link 546 is moved upwardly.The lever 568 is thereby swung clockwise so as to move the pin 554 andthe plunger cam 552 rearwardly into the path of the roller 352 on themaster cylinder 42. When the roller 352 engages the cam 552, thegrippers 212 are swung open. The leading end of the master is pushedaway from the master cylinder 42 by ejector fingers 220. The ejection ofthe master is completed by the ejection mechanism 80, which comprisesfingers 582 adapted to strip the master from the master cylinder 42 andto direct the master between the rollers '84 and '86. The master ispropelled by the rollers 84 and 86 into the receiving tray 82.

The stripper fingers 582 are shown generally in FIG. 1, and in greaterdetail in FIGS. 24-26. It will be seen that the fingers 582 are formedon one edge of a guide plate 584 which directs the ejected masterbetween the rollers 84 and 86. Slots or notches 588 are formed betweenthe stripper fingers 582 to provide for the passage of the gripperfingers 212. The stripper fingers 582 are narrow and are adapted to passbetween the open grippers 212.

The lower roller '86 is divided into a plurality of sections 590 whichproject upwardly through slots 592 in the lower guide plate 584.Similarly, the upper roller 84 is divided into sections 594.

The upper and lower rollers 84 and '86 are constantly in engagement witheach other and are continuously driven. Thus, the lower roller 86 isfitted with a gear 596 which meshes with an idler gear 598 driven by themain gear 166 on the master cylinder 42.

The upper roller 84 is frictionally driven by the lower roller 86. Itwill be seen that the upper roller 84 is mounted on a swing frame 600which is biased in a clockwise direction by a spring 602. Thus, thespring 602 produces pressure between the rollers 84 and 86.

As shown in FIG. 25, two of the sections 590 of the lower roller 86 arefitted with narrow outwardly projecting rings or discs 604 which areeifective to form longitudinal creases or ridges in the ejected masterso as to stiffen the master and prevent it from curling after it isejected into the reeciving tray '82.

The stripper fingers 582 are adjusted so that they are closely'spacedfrom the master on the master cylinder 42. Thus, when the leading end ofthe master is pushed outwardly by the outward swinging movement of theejector fingers 220, the master is peeled off the master cylinder by thestripper fingers 582.

The master control lever 70 is moved past the Eject position to the Washposition, which is as far as the lever will go in a counterclockwisedirection. The master eject roller 524 displaces the lever 526 farenough so that the roller is able to pass the lever. It will be seenthat the lever 526 has a curved carri surface 608 which is engaged andpassed by the roller 524.

When the master lever 70 is returned from the Wash position to theNeutral position, it passes through the Eject position, but the mastereject roller 524 moves past the eject lever 526 without actuating theeject mechanism. This return movement of the roller 524 producescounterclockwise movement of the lever 526, so that the pin 530 is swungaway from the arm 532, without changing the position of the arm 532. Thespring 536 is stretched so that the pin 530 is returned against the arm532 after the roller 524 has passed the lever 526.

The movement of the master control lever 70 to the Wash positionactuates a blanket washer mechanism 610 which applies a solvent to theblanket on the blanket cylinder and is effective to wash the ink off theblanket. Those skilled in the art will be familiar with such blanketwashers. To actuate the blanket washer 610, a roller 612 is mounted onthe rear side of the detent cam 386. When the cam 386 is moved to theWash position, the roller 612 engages a lever or pawl 614 and iseffective to swing it in a clockwise direction about the pivot 468. Itwill be recalled that the pivot 468 also supports the actuating lever466 for the image development control mechanism. The lever 614 is formedwith a flange or ear 616 which is engageable with a pin 618 on a lever620, also swingable about the pivot 468. Thus, the lever 620 is alsoswung in a clockwise direction.

The outer end of the lever 620 is connected by means of pin 622 to alink 624 which extends to a lever 626 and is connected thereto byanother pin 628. A spring 630 biases the lever 626 in a clockwisedirection. The lever 626 is secured to a shaft 632 which also carries alever arm 634. A link 636 of irregular shape is connected to the leverarm' 634 by means of a pin 638. The other end of the link 636 isconnected by means of a pin 640 to an arm 642 which is secured to ashaft 644. It will be seen that the actuating lever 646 for the blanketwasher 610 is mounted on the shaft 644. The actuation of the lever 614by the roller 612 causes the lever 646 to swing in a clockwise directionso as to actuate the blanket washer mechanism 610. The blanket washer isoperated for a few revolutions of the blanket cylinder, and then themaster control lever 70 is returned to the Neutral position. The machineis now ready for the loading of another master onto the master cylinder42. It will be noted that the rotation of the cylinders 42, 44 and 46 ismaintained throughout the operating cycle of the machine. All of thefunctions of the machine may be carried out without stopping thecylinders 42-46.

In conclusion, it may be helpful to summarize the operation of theduplicating machine. Initially, it will be assumed that the machine isrunning so that the master blanket and impression cylinders, 42, 44 and46, are rotating. Moreover, it will be assumed that the master controllever 70 is in the Neutral position and that no master is on the mastercylinder 42.

The new master to be fed to the master cylinder 42 is placed on themaster feed table 50 and is slid between the guide plates 56 and 58until the master engages the stops 188 (FIGS. 1 and 8). The etchapplicator 60 is then actuated by swinging the lever 66 clockwise as faras it will go. This moves the applicator pad 62 from the sponge 64 tothe master cylinder so that the etching solution will be applied to thenew master as soon as it is in place on the master cylinder 42.

The actuation of the lever 66 also triggers the control mechanism forthe master loading mechanism 48. Thus, the finger 138 (FIG. 3) swingsthe split lever 142 counterclockwise, which in turn swings the latch- 15operating lever 258 clockwise. The wire spring 272 urges the primarylatch 246 in a counterclockwise direction.

When the high portion 240 of the cam 230 engages the roller 234, thefollower lever 32 is swung a small amount in a counterclockwisedirection. This relieves the latching pressure between the car 250 onthe lever 232 and the shoulder 248 on the primary latch 246, so that thespring 272 is able to move the primary latch in a counterclockwisedirection to its unlatched position.

Thus, the follower lever 232 is also to follow the cam 230. Theresulting clockwise movement of the follower lever 232 permits the lever178 to move counterclock wise, with the result that the upper masterfeed roller '52 drops down onto the upper side of the master. At thesame time, the stops 188 drop down out of the path of the master. Thecontinuously rotating lower roller 54 feeds the master between the guideplates 56 and 58 to the grippers 212 on the master cylinder 42.

Meanwhile, the clockwise movement of the follower lever 323 has alsocaused the grippers 212 to h opened, so that the master will be fed intothe crotch 224 between the grippers 212 and the ejector fingers 220. Theopening of the grippers 212 is produced by the plunger cam 324 which ismoved into the path of the roller 352 on the master cylinder 42. Theplunger cam 324 is connected to the follower lever 232 by the linkagewhich comprises the link 302, the levers 308 and 318, the link 320 andthe lever 340.

When the cam 230 has rotated through a full revolution, the followerlever 232 is relatched by the secondary latch 282, which restrains thefollower lever 232 as long as the lever 66 is held in its actuatedposition. When the lever 66 is returned to its initial position, theprimary latch 246 again moves into latching engagement with the ear 250.

The operator then moves the master control lever 70 to the Ink position.The control cam 384 permits the lever 418 to move in a counterclockwisedirection. Such movement of the lever 418 swings the lever 430 in aclockwise direction so as to cause the form roller 432 to move intoengagement with the master on the master cylinder 42. Thus, ink isapplied to the master.

Next, the operator moves the master control lever 70 to the Imageposition. The roller 462 on the detent cam 386 moves the lever 466 in acounterclockwis direction and thereby swings the control lever 486 in aclockwise direction. This has the effect of causing the master cylinder42 to shift into engagement with the blanket cylinder 44. Thus, the inkfrom the master is applied to the blanket on the blanket cylinder.

From the Image position, the master control lever 70 is moved to theFeed position. The control cam 384 causes the lever 418 to swingcounterclockwise an additional amount, with the result that the arm 456is swung clockwise. Such movement starts the application of water to theoscillating roller 450 by the ductor roller 452. The water istransmitted to the form roller 432 and thence to the master cylinder 42.

The operator then moves the control lever 70 from the Feed position tothe Feed On position. The pin 506 moves the lever 510 in acounterclockwise direction so as to move the control lever 522 in acounterclockwise direction. This turns on the feed mechanism so thatpaper sheets will be fed between the blanket and impression cylinders 44and 46.

The control lever 70 returns by spring return action to the Feedposition and is left in such position while the paper sheets are beingprinted. At the end of the desired run, the operator returns the mastercontrol lever to the Image position. The pin 508 engages the lever 510and swings it in a clockwise direction to turn off the feed mechanism.

In moving between the Feed and Image positions, the control cam 384causes the lever 418 to swing clockwise by an amount sufficient toterminate the application of 16 water to the oscillating roller 450 bythe water ductor roller 452.

The operator returns the lever 70 to the Ink position and then to theNeutral position. As a result, the control cam 384 swings the lever 418in a clockwise direction so as to separate the form roller 432 from themaster cylinder 42. Thus, the supply of ink to the master cylinder isinterrupted.

From the Neutral position, the operator swings the lever 70 to the Ejectposition. The roller 524 causes clockwise movement of the lever 526,which in turn causes counterclockwise movement of the four-armed lever534. The resulting upward movement of the link 456 moves the plunger cam552 into the path of the roller 352 on the master cylinder 42. Thegrippers 212 are thus opened, so that the leading end of the :master ispushed away from the master cylinder by the ejector finger 220. Thus,the stationary stripper fingers 582 are able to get under the master andto strip the master off the cylinder 42. The master is projected betweenthe constantly rotating rollers 84 and 86, which propel the master intothe receiving tray 82.

From the Eject position, the operator moves the control lever 70 to theWash position. The roller 612 operates the lever 614 which in turnoperates the lever 620. As a result, the actuating lever 646 for theblanket washer is swung clockwise so that the blanket washer iseffective to wash the ink 0E the blanket.

Finally, the operator returns the control lever 70 to the Neutralposition. During such movement, the master eject roller 524 displacesthe lever 526 in a counterclockwise direction but does not actuate themaster eject mechanism.

The machine continues to run and is now ready for another operatingcycle. It will be recognized that the many functions required tocomplete an operating cycle are carried out very quickly and easily,with a minimum chance for error on the part of the operator. Thus, theduplicating machine is particularly well adapted for short run service,in which short printing runs are made from a large number of differentmasters. The machine is capable of greatly increased production in shortrun service, when compared with prior manually controlled machines.Moreover, the automatic features of the present machine insure that theproper procedures will be followed, so that good work will be produced,with little or no waste of paper. The present machine also makes it mucheasier to train operators. Moreover, operator fatigue is greatlyreduced.

In some cases, it may be desirable to produce an olfset duplicatingmachine which is simpler and lower in price than the machine describedabove. This may readily be done by eliminating the master loadingmechanism 48. In the case of such a modified machine, the operation ofmounting the master printing sheet on the master cylinder is donemanually. To provide for manual loading of the new master, it isnecessary to stop the machine after the old master has been ejected fromthe master cylinder by the master ejecting mechanism 80. For thispurpose, the machine may be modified so that it will be stoppedautomatically when the master control lever 70 is returned to theNeutral position, after being swung to the Eject and Wash positions, aspreviously described.

For this purpose, the modified machine may be provided with a stoppingswitch 660, mounted adjacent the cam cluster 380, as shown in FIG. 15.The detent cam is provided with a slope or lobe 662 which is adapted tooperate the switch 660 when the control lever 70 is returned to theNeutral position. It will be seen that the lobe 662 is adjacent the highportion 408 of the detent cam and is at the same elevation. The switch660 may be adapted for one-way operation, so that the high portion 408will not be effective to operate the switch when the detent cam 386 ismoved counterclockwise from the Neutral position to the master Ejectposition. Thus,

17 the switch 660 has a main operating lever 664 with a one-wayoperating arm 666 swingably mounted thereon by means of a pivot 668. Afollower roller 670 is mounted on the outer end of the arm 666. It willbe seen that the one-way operating arm 666 extends radially inwardlywith respect to the detent cam 386. When the detent cam is movedcounterclockwise, the arm 666 is swung clockwise about its pivot 668, sothat the switch 660 is not operated. When the high portion 408 haspassed the roller 670, the arm 666 is returned to its initial positionby a spring 672. When the detent cam 386 is moved in a clockwisedirection, the lobe or slope 662 engages the roller 670 and is effectiveto swing the operating lever 664 counterclockwise so as to operate theswitch 660.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the stopping switch 660may be employed to shut ofi? the electric drive motor for the machine.The stopping switch 660 may also be employed to control an electricallyoperated brake to stop the machine. The brake may be arranged to stopthe machine in a particular position in which it is convenient to loadthe master manually on the master cylinder.

A modified machine of this character retains all of the operating easeafforded by the single master control lever. Moreover, the mastercontrol lever insures that the proper procedures will be followed whenprinting runs are started and terminated. Thus, the modified machine ishighly efiicient and productive, particularly when the machine is usedfor a multiplicity of short runs.

Various other modifications, alternative constructions and equivalentsmay be employed Without departing from the true spirit and scope of theinvention, as exemplified in the foregoing description and defined inthe following claims.

We claim:

1. In a printing machine, the combination comprising a rotatable mastercylinder for carrying a master printing sheet, a blanket cylinder forreceiving an offset image from the master printing sheet, an impressioncylinder for pressing copy sheets against said blanket cylinder, amovable control lever swingable in opposite directions from a neutralposition, detent means for detaining said lever in said neutral positionand also in first, second and third positions on one side of saidneutral position, and an additional position on the other side of saidneutral position, means operable by movement of said control lever fromsaid neutral position to said first position for causing the applicationof ink and water to the master printing sheet, means operable bymovement of said control lever to said second position for causing thedevelopment of an offset image of the master printing sheet on saidblanket cylinder, means operable by movement of said control lever toand beyond said third position for causing the feeding of copy sheetsbetween said blanket and impression cylinders, means operable bymovement of said lever from said neutral position to said additionalposition for causing the ejection of the master printing sheet from saidmaster cylinder, and means operable by movement of said lever to saidadditional position for causing the removal of the image from saidblanket cylinder.

2. In a printing machine, the combination comprising a rotatable mastercylinder for carrying a master printing sheet, a blanket cylinder forreceiving an offset image from the master printing sheet, an impressioncylinder for pressing copy sheets against said blanket cylinder, acontrolimember movable in opposite directions from a neutral position,detent means for detaining said member in said neutral position and alsoin first, second and third positions on one side of said neutralposition, and an additional position on the other side of said neutralposition, means operable by movement of said control member from saidneutral position to said first position for causing the application ofink and water to the master printing sheet, means operable by movementof said control member to said second position for causing thedevelopment of an offset image of the master printing sheet on saidblanket cylinder, means operable by movement of said control member toand beyond said third position for causing the feeding of copy sheetsbetween said blanket and impression cylinders, means operable bymovement of said member from said neutral position to said additionalposition for causing the ejection of the master printing sheet from saidmaster cylinder, and means operable by movement of said member to saidadditional position for causing the removal of the image from saidblanket cylinder.

3. In a printing machine, the combination comprising a rotatablecylinder for carrying a master printing sheet, a plurality of stationarystripper elements disposed in closely spaced relation to said cylinder,a plurality of movable gripper elements on said cylinder for holding theleading end of the master printing sheet, a cam follower movably mountedon said cylinder for opening said gripper elements, a cam movable intothe path of said cam follower for opening said gripper elements, aplurality of ejector elements movable with said gripper elements intimed relation to the rotation of said cylinder for projecting theleading end of the master printing sheet outwardly from said cylinderfor interception by said stripper elements to eject the master printingsheet from said cylinder, a manually rotatable control member, a rollermovable with said control member, a first lever engageable by saidroller, a second lever operable by said first lever, means connectingsaid second lever to said cam for moving said cam into the path of saidcam follower, said first lever having a projecting member movableagainst one side of said second lever, and a spring biasing said firstlever against said second lever, said roller being movable past saidfirst lever in opposite directions and being effective to actuate saidsecond lever in one direction while being operative in the otherdirection to deflect said first lever without moving said second lever.

4. In a printing machine,

the combination comprising a rotatable master cylinder for carrying amaster printing sheet,

a blanket cylinder for receiving an offset image from the masterprinting sheet,

an impression cylinder for pressing copy sheets against said blanketcylinder,

a movable control lever swingable in opposite directions from a neutralposition,

detent means for detaining said lever in said neutral position and alsoin a series of positions on one side of said neutral position,

and an additional position on the other side of said neutral position,

a series of means operable by movement of said control lever from saidneutral position to said series of positions for causing the applicationof ink and water to the master printing sheet,

causing the development of an offset image of the master printing sheeton said blanket cylinder,

and causing the feeding of copy sheets between said blanket andimpression cylinders,

means operable by movement of said lever from said neutral position tosaid additional position for causing the ejection of the master printingsheet from said master cylinder,

and means operable by movement of said lever to said additional positionfor causing the removal of the image from said blanket cylinder.

5. In a printing machine,

the combination comprising a rotatable master cylinder for carrying amaster printing sheet,

a blanket cylinder for receiving an offset image from the masterprinting sheet,

an impression cylinder for pressing copy sheets against said blanketcylinder,

1. IN A PRINTING MACHINE, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A ROTATABLE MASTERCYLINDER FOR CARRYING A MASTER PRINTING SHEET, A BLANKET CYLINDER FORRECEIVING ON OFFSET IMAGE FROM THE MASTER PRINTING SHEET, AN IMPRESSIONCYLINDER FOR PRESSING COPY SHEETS AGAINST SAID BLANKET CYLINDER, AMOVABLE CONTROL LEVER SWINGABLE IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS FROM A NEUTRALPOSITION, DETENT MEANS FRO DETAINIGN SAID LEVER IN SAID NEUTRAL POSITIONAND ALSO IN FIRST, SECOND AND THRID POSITIONS ON ONE SIDE OF SAIDNEUTRAL POSTION, AND AN ADDITIONAL POSITION ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SAIDNEUTRAL POSITION, MEANS OPERABLE BY MOVEMENT OF SAID CONTROL LEVER FROMSAID NEUTRAL POSITION TO SAID FIRST POSTION FOR CAUSING THE APPLICATIONOF INK AND WATER TO THE MASTER PRINTING SHEET, MEANS OPERABLE BYMOVEMEMT OF SAID CONTROL LEVER TO SAID SECOND POSITION FOR CAUSING THEDEVELOPMENT OF